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Answer Nature's Call, And Don't Affect Nature!

by Kat Maudru,posted Apr 15 2011 6:09AM

Frenchman Dr. Laurent Helewa has designed a biodegradable portable toilet. The lightweight, easy to construct and carry toilet was developed after Hurricane Katrina, when thousands of displaced people were crammed into a stadium for a week, with hardly any access to facilities.
As Helewa puts it, "It's a taboo subject, but necessary in case of natural disasters," pointing to the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti that displaced tens of thousands of people.
Weighing about 4.4 pounds, his invention is essentially a piece of cardboard that folds into a boxed seat in a minute, and comes with plastic bags that each contain an absorbent pad to soak up liquids. Helewa claims that the heavy-duty version is able to withstand a weight of 440 pounds (!) and usage of 20 hours a day.
I’m not sure my toilet at home could stand up (or sit down) to those claims!
For more green ideas, visit www.onethingsacramento.com